Dexter 4.1-3 – Living the Dream, Remains to be Seen, & Blinded by the Light

A familiar scene: Dexter driving down a deserted road in the middle of the night, a look of hard determination on his face. Good to know some things never change. The story changes focus halfway through Dexter’s monologue (which we should all have memorized by now) to John Lithgow, who is busy filling up a bathtub with water. Back to Dexter, who parks his car. Oh. He wasn’t going for a kill at all. He was just driving until his baby son, Harrison, fell asleep. It didn’t work.

In the bathroom, naked John Lithgow hears someone walking through the house. A girl opens the bathroom door, looking perturbed. She closes the open medicine cabinet and sees a strange naked man in the mirror’s reflection (that horror film camera angle shit gets me EVERY TIME). Lithgow forces her into the tub with him. He sits behind her and holds a mirror up so he can see her face as he cuts the femoral artery in her leg. He watches her die this way. What the fucking hell?

The suburban family life isn’t fitting Dexter well. He’s completely off and exhausted and he can’t find his damn car keys. Astor is a rude pre-teen who demands an iPod and Cody loves the neightbor’s swimming pool. Rita is still sweet and Harrison is adorbs.

Let’s catch up with Deb. Oh, she’s busy in bed with Anton. Sorry to interrupt. They’re living together, but they don’t see each other a heck of a lot with their conflicting work schedules. Deb is still busy working on those CI files. She’s been meeting the ones that are still living and has an appointment with another one tomorrow. Oh Deb. Don’t go opening doors you can’t close.

Dexter is giving testimony as a blood expert in court. Hottie McHotstuff Joey Quinn watches from the back of the courtroom. Dexter realizes he brought the wrong case file. The defendant’s lawyer goes to town with this, saying he’s unreliable in a courtroom and questioning Homicide’s competence. Quinn is pissed. He loses his shit on Dexter; apparently the guy walked. He won’t walk far. Gomez is just another victim for Dexter.

The gang heads to a new crime scene: the one we saw in the beginning of the episode. They believe it’s a homicide. Outside, a young hot reporter ducks under the police tape like she owns the place. She starts asking Quinn questions about Lisa Bell, the victim. Quinn doesn’t play ball, but he gives her his card and his cell number.

Maria is at home showing off her sexy pajamas for… Angel? Guess things with Barbara didn’t work out. Apparently these clandestine hookups have been going on for some time and they’ve been keeping it on the DL. It is so freaking weird watching them make out.

Back at the bathroom crime scene, Dexter carefully peels away the tile around the tub. He found some old blood on the floor that didn’t match Lisa’s. The old blood came from the bathtub too. Quinn is still being a huge asshole to Dexter. He’s annoyed they found more evidence to convolute an already difficult case. Dexter is leaving when he’s greeted by FRANK FUCKING LUNDY! Oh, how I’ve missed you! Lundy starts asking questions about the crime scene but says he’ll stop by the station later to talk more.

Dexter is at his old apartment, getting ready for the kill. Rita would kill him if she knew he still had it. Dexter makes the excellent point that he needs a place to keep his serial killer stuff. The kill room for Gomez is an abandoned boxing arena. Dex waits for Gomez outside of his favorite bar when he falls asleep in the car. A cop finds him and thinks he’s drunk or high. While Dexter recites the alphabet backwards, Gomez leaves. The police officer scolds him but lets him go. He can’t go after Gomez now.

The hot reporter brings Joey a copy of her article about the murdered girl. Quinn tells her “off the record” that they’re working on a bigger case – a group of people that has been robbing tourists killed a guy on his honeymoon (which, oh my god, as someone planning a wedding all of this stuff is nightmare fuel for me). Joey can’t tell her much else, but she asks him out for a drink to thank him for his help with the bathtub story.

The blood Dexter found under the tiles gives zilch on the DNA front, so he searches the address in the database. There was another homicide at that address in April of 1979: a 22 year old named Vicki Noonan. She died in the exact same way as Lisa Bell. Lundy shows up. He needs Dexter’s help because he retired from the FBI and can’t use their resources. His retirement project isn’t something like building birdhouses or repairing an antique car. No, it’s chasing down a serial killer that got away, a guy he calls the Trinity Killer because he kills in threes. He’s been doing it all over the country for years, but Lundy can’t even prove that Trinity exists. Lisa Bell fits the previous victims. Trinity is in Miami, starting a new cycle. Lundy’s cases go back about 15 years, but the homicide at Lisa’s house is 30 years old. Trinity is back where the killing began. He’s the most successful serial killer to ever get away with it.

Deb’s on the phone with Anton when she sees Lundy for the first time. Deb isn’t exactly smooth. She barely manages not to freak out and they make a little small talk before Lundy heads out.

Dexter has to nab Gomez at his house, since he can’t go back to that bar. He manages. Rita calls in the middle of Dexter’s kill. Harrison has an ear infection and she needs Dexter to go to an all-night pharmacy. Dex quickly kills Gomez and cleans up. He stuffs his stuff in his trunk and drives off. Dexter falls asleep at the wheel and wakes with a start, cranking the wheel and over adjusting, hitting the guardrail, and rolling his car several times. Uh-oh.

Dexter wakes up to EMS extracting him from his car and putting him on stretcher. He tries to sit up inside the ambulance, watching as the paramedics examine his car. A cop approaches, informing Dex that they found something in the car. Instead of a severed head, the cop hands over Harrison’s prescription. Someone is going to find the body eventually. The doctor wants to keep Dexter over night because he sustained a concussion, but that’s not happening. He’s not even going to call in to work. He has to find Gomez’s body.

No don't look in that drawer!

John Lithgow, who we now only know as the Trinity Killer, enjoys a morning crossword puzzle and a cup of coffee at an outdoor café. He spots a woman with short brown hair passing by. He follows her.

Dexter found out where they were keeping his car. Only one bag is left in the trunk (his kill tools) and there were six holding Gomez’s body. Benny must have been ejected from the car. Angel calls and tells Dexter to go to a high priority crime scene at a hotel. It’s another tourist. Maria is pissed because they wanted to keep these shootings low profile and there’s an article in the newspaper about them. It was written by one Christine Hill… you know, the reporter Quinn spoke to “off the record.”

Dexter returns to the scene of his accident. Gomez’s body is not there and he can’t remember what he did with him. Don’t you just hate when that happens? He can’t spend too much time looking and heads to the crime scene. While investigating the victim’s body, Dex feels nauseous and runs outside for some air. He spots some blood on the cactus lining the patio, probably belonging to the killer.

Deb is eating lunch when Lundy asks to join her. The situation is too weird for her. They haven’t even spoken in two years and all of a sudden he’s there again. Lundy apologizes and they talk about the Lisa Bell case. The guy who was convicted of the 1979 murder is back out of jail, and Deb thinks he killed Lisa Bell, too. Patrol picked the guy up and Lundy asks if he can observe the interview. Meanwhile, Trinity is still tailing the brunette woman.

At the hotel crime scene, Harry tells Dexter he’s trying to do too much. Dexter ignores him (which we all know by now is never a good idea) and heads back into the hotel room just in time to see Quinn pocketing a wad of cash from the safe. They make eye contact, but Dexter turns away.

Mr. Noonan, the husband of the woman killed in ’79, insists he didn’t kill his wife or Lisa Bell. He has an alibi for the night of Lisa’s murder. He’s also dirty and shaky, where Lisa’s killer was meticulous and precise. It’s not Noonan. So why would someone do the same crime twice? Lundy wants to share his theory with Deb and invites her to dinner to talk. She agrees.

Dexter finally gets a chance to go back to the boxing arena. He can only remember bits and pieces of what happened last night. He finds a drop of blood in the ring and knows he was sloppy. Dexter tries to think what he would do with a body if he couldn’t dispose of it. Obviously, he’d hide it. But where the hell did he hide it?

While Dexter is running all over Miami trying to find a body, Rita is at the lot where they took Dexter’s car, speaking to an insurance rep. Rita is shocked when she sees the car. Dexter told her it was only a fender bender; by the state of the car, Dex is lucky to be alive.

Back at work, Joey is all nicey-nice to Dexter. He apologizes for losing his cool after Gomez’s trial, but it’s pretty obvious he’s trying to ensure Dexter won’t squeal on him for stealing from a crime scene. Dex couldn’t care less about what Quinn does. He tries to log on to his computer, but he can’t even remember his own password. Harry tries to help – the password is “Harry,” if you were wondering. Sweet.

The blood on the cactus isn’t turning up any results, and Maria decides she’s going to keep everyone at work until further notice. Dexter is on his thousandth Red Bull of the day when he finds from the blood sample that the suspect had syphilis. The only male name that turned up in the Miami Health database was Johnny Rose. Dex drops the file off with Maria then books it. He has to find Gomez.

Angel and Maria have been having some problems. They have to keep their relationship quiet, and Maria doesn’t know how to act around Angel anymore. She took him off a case in a way that was kind of embarrassing for him. They decide to take a break. Which lasts for less than 60 seconds.

Back to the boxing arena. Lundy calls. He wants to talk to Dexter about Trinity (who is still stalking that woman!). Lundy knows Trinity is going to kill again soon, and it’s going to be a woman older than Lisa Bell. After they hang up, Dexter searches the arena again. He finds a drop of blood in the same place he found one earlier, and he remembers cleaning that. Struck with inspiration, he looks up. He lowers a punching bag from above him and finds Gomez’s body inside. Dexter safely disposes of him this time.

The fam is enjoying a neighborhood picnic. Rita spoke to the doctor that examined Dexter after the accident. She learned that Dexter had a concussion and he wasn’t even supposed to drive for the next ten days. Rita is now going to drive him everywhere. That sucks. This is the second lie she’s caught him in and he’s been kind of a d-bag lately, so. Rita and Dexter talk to their neighbors about a vandal who has recently been ruining stuff around the block.

A familiar brunette woman is crying as she drives her van, Trinity sitting in the backseat, directing her where to go. They stop at some creepy abandoned warehouse and Trinity leads her out of the car. They’re at the very top of the building now, looking over the water from double doors just below the roof. Trinity tells her it’s time for her to jump. After he threatens her husband and her kids, the woman begs him to push her. Trinity won’t. She jumps. Trinity returns downstairs and stands over her body: “Oh… Mommy.” WTF? He licks his finger and puts it in a jar of some kind of powder, then wipes it on the ground near the woman’s hand.

Anton’s band got a month-long gig at a local hotel three nights a week, which means he won’t have to keep working on cruise ships that take him away for days at a time. He’s excited to spend more time with Deb. Deb looks less than thrilled. Is Lundy getting under her skin more than she realizes?

Homicide hasn’t gotten a hit on Johnny Rose yet, but they’re working on it. After Maria adjourns the morning briefing, Quinn gives Dexter awesome tickets to a Dolphins game. He says he wanted to give them to a “friend” because he couldn’t go. Don’t make yourself look too desperate, Quinn. Angel announces that someone found the body of a female jumper and they make like a baby and head out to the scene.

Lundy meets them there. Quinn hilariously calls him “Special Agent Grandpa.” He wasn’t around when Lundy was working the Butcher case, so he has no connection with Lundy. Quinn is quick to rule it a suicide, but Deb convinces him to view it as a homicide. Lundy hypothesizes the woman is in her 30s with two kids and suggests they find out if there was another jumper here 30 years ago.

Dexter returns home later that night to find his neighbor has installed motion detector security lights. Just what every serial killer needs. Their dining room and kitchen are filled with people for the neighborhood watch meeting. It’s pretty creepy how they’re supposed to learn each other’s schedules and “watch and report” on their patrols with their sweet headlamps and whistles. The vandal got the Morgans’ house the night before: s/he spray painted some graffiti on their gate and left the paint can behind. One of the neighbor boys at the meeting has graffiti on his shoes. Dexter takes his empty soda can to check for prints. They match.

Maria found a lead in Johnny Rose’s juvy file: he was busted for shop lifting with his high school girlfriend, Nicki. It’s a long shot, but Maria and Angel use it for a little afternoon delight at a hotel on the way to Nicki’s place. She isn’t home, but she shows up as Maria and Angel leave – and Johnny’s with her. Johnny and Nicki both pull guns and fire at Maria and Angel. They get away.

Dexter decides he’s going to scare some sense into the vandal neighbor boy, Jesse. Jesse sneaks out after his father leaves for the evening, and Dexter follows, dressed like a burglar. A group of neighborhood watch dudes on patrol spot them, and Jesse and Dexter both make a run for it, splitting up. The group follows Dexter, who thinks: “It’s watch and report, assholes, not watch and chase.” Dexter manages to escape. He’s sure living in that neighborhood is going to kill him. Elliot stops by the next morning to report the vandal struck again. He busted a car window, released the emergency break, and shoved the car out of the driveway.

Dex, Lundy, Masuka, Deb, and Quinn are doing some MythBusters-esque detective work at the warehouse. They’re dropping dummies the size and weight of the latest victim from the top floor, tracking changes in trajectory for someone that is pushed versus someone that just lets go. Lundy knows the next kill will be a man being bludgeoned, ending the cycle. Dexter is really impressed with the Trinity Killer’s work. Lundy couldn’t even get people at the FBI on board with his theories. He thinks Trinity is a lone wolf… just like himself. Sure, he was married for almost 30 years, but the only thing that got his heart beating was the hunt. Dexter knows exactly what he means.

This look reminds me of a not as awesome Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Trinity sets an urn on a small table surrounded by old photos. He opens the small jar he had at the crime scene and dumps his contents into the urn. OH. Gross. He pours a glass of scotch and a glass of water, pushing the glass of scotch away from him, as though giving it to someone sitting across from him. He clinks his glass of water against the other glass: “Drink up. You’re next.” Definitely the creepiest killer we’ve seen on the show so far in that messed up Norman Bates sort of way.

Masuka believes the woman jumped from the warehouse and the autopsy report showed she had a small tumor. Her husband confirmed they just found out last week, and Quinn thinks she may have been taking the easy way out. Maria wants to close the case, much to Deb’s dismay. Maria says she’s welcome to pursue it on her own time.

Nighttime in Miami. Dexter heads home to his family, where he patches things up with an angsty Astor after embarrassing her by treating her like a little kid. Joey gets a massage from topless Christine and tells her about Lundy’s theory (you’re a fucking moron, Joey). Deb is at a bar with Lundy, poring over his Trinity files as he explains everything to her. Anton calls while she’s there; she half-lies and says she’s working late. She can’t even say “I love you” back before she hangs up.

Later that night, Dexter hears Jesse bust a window, followed by a car alarm. Dex is in his burglar outfit again, planning to wait in Jesse’s room to scare the shit out of him. He opens the door and sees Jesse fast asleep. Then who the hell is the vandal? The front door opens, and Jesse’s recently widowed father Andy enters, carrying the wrench he just used to smash the car window. So Dexter decides to scare the shit out of Andy instead. Andy’s not gonna take it, and he tries to fight. He’s pissed off because everyone else in the neighborhood is so rich, which is why he’s breaking their stuff. He lost his wife, he lost his job, his son hates him, and the bank wants to take the house away. Poor Andy. Dex threatens Jesse, and Andy agrees to stop.

Elliot’s security lights blind Dexter as he returns home. The graffiti is still visible on the gate, even though Dexter painted over it. Harry tells him the stain is too deep to be erased (ooh, burn). Rita comes outside just as Dexter breaks the security lights with a rake. She and Dexter make eye contact before the screen goes black.

Copyright

All written words and original art work on HDJM should be considered as wholly owned by the author and/or site. Reprinting without permission will result in your being mocked mercilessly and we'll say nasty things about your mother, too. Oh, and maybe sue. Stealers need healers.